


Poly Poly Literature Club

by Red_Cat302



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Real World, Asexual Character, Bisexual Character, But there’s happy things too!, Character Development, Cutting, Depression, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Everyone is Poly because there’s a lack of those types of fics so I’m fixing that, F/F, Fluff, Found Family, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Internalized Homophobia, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Female Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Pansexual Character, Plus the MC is only mentioned so that’s a good thing too, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Relationship Development, Trans Natsuki (Doki Doki Literature Club!), Transphobia, Trigger Warnings will be included in their respective chapters but I’ll tag them here too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-19 00:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29866095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Cat302/pseuds/Red_Cat302
Summary: MC left long before the Literature Club was formed. Without any attachments to some guy, the members of the club are free to fall in love, be themselves, and heal together.A mostly lighthearted story where the literature club girls’ relationships build and eventually they all get together.
Relationships: Monika & Natsuki & Sayori & Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club!), Monika/Natsuki/Sayori/Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club!)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	1. The Club Begins

“A Literature Club?” Monika asked, “Of all the ideas, why is that the one you’re so sure about?”

“Nononono, just think about it!” Sayori said, bouncing slightly, unable to hold in her excitement “You don’t want a club that’ll draw to much attention, right? Not a lot of people will find the club interesting enough to join, so this way there’ll be less drama!”

As soon as the final bell rang, Sayori had ran to Monika’s locker. They had toyed around with the idea of starting a club earlier in class after Monika had mentioned she’d quit the debate team. The idea hadn’t left Sayori’s mind all day, and she’d come up with the perfect plan.

“That is why I wanted to do this I suppose...” Monika muttered “But how are we supposed to convince anyone with a premise that dull? What’s the appeal? What would we even do? Just sit around and read?”

“Yes! We would read for most of the meeting, and then discuss what we read after,” Sayori explained “It’ll be like a safe space for people to come relax at the end of the day and read their books.”

“That does sound nice, actually,” Monika admitted “But there’s still the issue of- “

A few students walked by and said hi to Monika, cutting her off.

“Members?” Sayori asked as they left, and Monika nodded “Fear not! For I have a few potential victims.”

Sayori reached into her backpack, flourished a slightly crumbled piece of notebook paper, and presented it to Monika.

Monika scanned her list of potential members and laughed “Geez Sayori, have you been stalking people?”

“What! No!” Sayori exclaimed “I just happened to see them in the library- “

“Don’t worry, it was a joke,” Monika smiled before pulling out a pink pen with a heart on the cap “Is it ok if I write on this?” When Sayori nodded, Monika held the paper against her locker and her pen against her lips.

“These two would never join, they were only in the library for a project,” Monika said, crossing two names out “‘Rich green haired girl’...? You mean Hitomi?”

“Probably...?”

“She has a pretty busy schedule; she probably wouldn’t be able to...”

Monika went through the rest of the list, marking out most of the suggestions.

“‘Pretty, mysterious girl with the long purple hair’?” Monika asked with a laugh “Ok that’s... Yuri I believe? I haven’t spoken to her much, she seems rather shy. She’s always in the library.”

“So, did we finally find a member?” Sayori asked.

“Well, we can see if she’s interested!” Monika wrote Yuri’s name next to Sayori’s description and circled it.

“Ok this guy is a creep so that’s a no,” Monika said as she crossed off another name “Now... Natsuki,” Monika said, tapping her pen on the paper, and frowning “I don’t believe I know her? That’s weird...”

“O-oh, she’s my friend,” Sayori said, hoping Monika wouldn’t ask any more questions “I would really like for her to join.”

“Alright,” Monika circled Natsuki’s name and went through the rest of the list. Finally, she gave the paper back to Sayori “I think we have two potential members! We can ask them tomorrow.”

“Yay!” Sayori clapped her hands together “I can’t wait to start!”

“Me either- oh,” Monika looked around “Sayori I think everyone else went home.”

Sayori looked down the halls. She was right. Except for a teacher or two still in their classrooms, she and Monika were the only ones left.

“We should probably get out of here,” Monika said, closing her locker and sliding her backpack on one of her shoulders “I’ll take care of messaging the right teachers. I’ll email you if needed and we can talk more tomorrow?”

“Yeah sure!” Sayori slid her thumbs through the straps of her backpack and began to follow Monika out the door.

——————

“Sooo, how do we approach the first target Miss President?” Sayori asked.

“We should probably stop hiding,” Monika said, “She might think we’re watching her.”

“But we are,” Sayori said. The two girls where currently behind a bookshelf in the library with a perfect view of Yuri.

It was the next day. Monika had taken care of everything and soon they would get the paperwork to fill out. Well, Monika would most likely be the one filling it out. She would be the Club President after all.

“Yes, but we can’t let her know that.”

“Ok, I got it!” Sayori whisper-shouted “We do an ambush! We both approach, give her the paper to sign, and tell her we want her to join our club! She won’t know what hit her!”

“Hmm... I think a sneak attack would be more strategic,” Monika said, putting her hands together “We approach carefully, make casual conversation, and slip in the fact we’re starting a Literature Club. Remember, we don’t want to scare her off.”

“Good plan, good plan,” Sayori said “Let’s go!”

They came out from behind the bookshelf and walked over to the table Yuri was at

“Hello,” Monika greeted, causing Yuri to jump slightly. She must have been so caught up in reading she hadn’t noticed them “Yuri, wasn’t it?” the girl nodded “Would you mind terribly if we sat with you?”

“N-no, that is quite alright Monika,” Yuri said softly. She had a really pretty voice. Then she turned to Sayori “H-hello, my name is Yuri.” She awkwardly reached out her hand as if to shake but drew it back quickly to grab a long strand of her hair. “It is nice to meet you…?”

“Sayori,” Sayori said, taking Yuri’s hand anyway “Would you like to join the Literature Club?”

“Sayori, we were supposed to wait!” Monika tried to whisper angrily, but she couldn’t hold back a smile.

“I-I was not aware our school had a Literature Club?” Yuri said, taking her hand back slowly.

“We’re starting one,” Sayori said, dramatically handing Yuri the signature sheet she’d been carrying with her “We think you should join.”

Yuri was still for a moment as if thinking of what to say.

“It would be a place to come after school to read and discuss literature with others,” Monika said, after the silence stretched one for a moment too long “Is that Portrait of Markov you’re reading there? I’ve been meaning to get around to it for a while now, perhaps we could read together?” Monika leaned towards the other girl slightly as she said the last part.

“O-okay,” Yuri said. Maybe it was Sayori’s imagination, but she thought she saw Yuri’s cheeks turn pink. Oh oh? The girl turned away and fiddled with her hair some more before Sayori could be sure. “I-I would like that very much M-Monika.”

She pulled a small box out of the bag sitting next to her and opened it to reveal a perfect row of identical pens. Monika took the paper from Sayori, who’d forgotten to put it down, and gave it to Yuri. She signed it with small, neat cursive.

“I just need to get Natsuki’s signature now,” Sayori said, bouncing a bit again, and taking the paper back.

“If you can get it to me by tomorrow morning, we could probably have our first official meeting tomorrow after school if that’s ok,” Monika said to both of them.

“Yes yes yes!” Sayori exclaimed, clapping her hands together on each word, and getting shushed by one of the nearby students. Yuri nodded in agreement, smiling.

“Excellent,” Monika beamed “I can’t wait to see you there!”

—————

sayowori: Natsuuuuuki~  
sayowori: Did you get the sign up sheet? I put it in your locker :D

natsuwuki: you want me to join a book club? :/

sayowori: Nooo I want you to join a Literature Club :D

natsuwuki: idk sounds pretentious  
natsuwuki: like its probably full of nerds who think long, depressing, wordy books are the only good form of literature and won’t give anything else a try. like manga

sayowori: And after I started reading Parfait Girls for you ;-; I’m hurt

natsuwuki: ok well not *you*

sayowori: And Monika isn’t like that either

natsuwuki: youre friends with monika??

sayowori: Yea, we have class together and we decided to start the club, why?

natsuwuki: no reason, she’s just really cool is all,,  
natsuwuki: you better not tell her I said that!

sayowori: Oooo does someone have a crush o.o

natsuwuki: shhut up! >:( and it doesnt matter, shes definently straight  
natsuwuki: actually that reminds me...  
natsuwuki: i dont want anyone to know.  
natsuwuki: about me i mean. i only told you cause i recognized the pin on your bag. i know youre ok with being out but I cant be. not till i can trust everyone there

sayowori: Ofc, I understand. I would never do anything to out you ^-^  
sayowori: Monika only knows you as Natsuki so you can just be yourself without having to worry they won’t accept you

natsuwuki: what if i dont pass enough

sayowori: Don’t worry, I got some stuff for you remember?  
sayowori: No! No! I see that typing bubble  
sayowori: Just let me do this for you!

natsuwuki: ..fine

natsuwuki: thank you sayori

sayowori: Np ^-^

natsuwuki: ill get the sign up thing to you tomorrow. ill make some cookies too, ik how much you like those. i can use your kitchen in the morning, right?

sayowori: Ofc!! Anything for the world’s best cookies!

natsuwuki: i am the best aren’t i ^-^

—————

Sayori texted a quick “good night” to Natsuki before she put her phone down.

It was all coming together. They had all their members and all the official stuff taken care of. Monika was already the best Club President anyone could’ve asked for ever!

Monika had wanted Sayori to become the president at first, since the club was her idea for the most part, but Sayori had declined. Still, Monika had insisted she be the Vice President... Sayori didn’t even want to think about what a bad job she would do. She would try her best of course. She didn’t want to mess this up for her friends.

Friends…

...

Sayori stopped herself before her thoughts got too out of control. She knew where this was going, and she didn’t want to go down that rabbit hole tonight.

She picked her phone back up and clicked on a random playlist to drown her thoughts out. Her parents were away, and would be for the foreseeable future, so she could have the volume as loud as she wanted.

...which admittedly wasn’t that loud, but the point was she could turn it up if she wanted to.

Sayori made her way to the bathroom and grabbed a bottle out of the medicine cabinet. Technically it was for colds, but a side effect was drowsiness. She checked the dosage and took one over it.

Maybe that would help her sleep faster.

She wandered into the living room and lay down on the couch. It wasn’t as comfortable as her bed, but it was closer.

Sayori selfishly tried to make herself ignore her doubts and fears. She couldn’t break down. She just wanted to think about the Literature Club.

The Literature Club. She smiled as she sunk into her pillow.

As she began to drift off, she found this was the first time in a long time she actually wanted to wake up in the morning.

—————

natsuwuki: knock knock  
natsuwuki: i hope you preheated the oven  
natsuwuki: sayoriiiiii

natsuwuki is calling...

—————

Sayori’s phone rang. A quick glance showed she had forgotten the plug it in last night. It wouldn’t last the whole day.

Sayori yawned and answered it “Heyy Natsuki, what’s up?”

“You said I could use your kitchen, remember?” Natsuki’s voice sounded a bit annoyed “I’m outside, come on, we don’t have much time.”

Sayori sat up and very quickly was reminded that she’d fallen asleep on the couch.

“Right! Right sorry!” Sayori scrambled up the stairs as fast as she could “You can come in, the doors unlocked,” Sayori said as she all but slammed her door behind her “I’ll be down in a minute, I just need to get dressed.”

She hung up and looked around for a uniform other than the one she’d fallen asleep in again, which probably needed to be washed. It wasn’t that bad and normally Sayori would just go with it, but her friend was here. Maybe she should try making an effort. She found a clean white button down and a skirt but ended up wearing the same vest and blazer as the day before. Then she pulled out a neatly folded, completely clean uniform from her dresser, grabbed a few hair ribbons off of her mess of a desk, and headed downstairs

—————

Natsuki was already hard at work in the kitchen when Sayori got there. She was in the kitchen mixing something up. She wore an oversized pink hoodie and the school uniform pants.

“Remind me what you’re doing again?” Sayori said, falling back onto the sofa, and immediately feeling herself wanting to drift back to sleep.

Natsuki had decided to arrive a whole hour and a half before school started, which meant to short amount of sleep she’d normally got had been cut even shorter.

“I’m making cookies for the club,” Natsuki replied “I brought my own supplies, I only came over because you have a better kitchen.”

Sayori sleepily glanced up at the counter to see a few bags of groceries.

“Nat, I really don’t mind if you use the stuff I have, you know,” she said, meaning it. It wasn’t like she cooked much for herself “You didn’t have to go out and spend however much you did for just a batch of cookies. You must have a pretty big allowance.”

“Actually, I have a job!” Natsuki said, sounding proud, and ignoring Sayori’s offer “My shifts are pretty late and infrequent, so they won’t interfere with the club, don’t worry. I got paid pretty recently so I got all this, and also, uh- “

Natsuki stepped away from what she was doing and reached into one of the bags.

“It’s the first copy of Parfait Girls!” Natsuki said, beaming. It might’ve been the happiest Sayori had ever seen her “I was thinking... I might could keep it in the club?” Her smile faded a bit “Papa doesn’t like them... I know I should’ve asked or whatever, but I guess I got excited when I saw it in the store.”

“Yeah, we could find a place for it there,” Sayori said, sitting up “And if the teachers say no, you can just keep it here if you want? You can’t live too far away if we can both walk to school.”

“We are pretty close,” Natsuki confirmed “I walked here, it didn’t take too long.”

Natsuki glanced at the coffee table by the couch where Sayori had dropped the uniform and ribbons.

“Is that- “

“Yep!” Sayori said “I think it’s from last year? Anyway, it’s too small for me but it would be perfect for you! Also, I have some extra ribbons. I used to wear them before I got this,” she gestured to the clip on bow now in her hair “But I thought they’d look really cute on you~”

Natsuki’s face turned red.

“C-cute…” she stuttered “I lov- I mean, it’s fine, but I-I don’t think I can wear it to school...” she didn’t seem happy about that “Word might get around to Papa, he wouldn’t be happy.”

“You can wear it to the Literature Club, right? Like we talked about?” Sayori asked “I want you to feel safe there.”

“Yeah!” Natsuki’s smile came back as she agreed “There’s less people at school then, that would be safe.”

Natsuki was quiet for a moment, considering something “Maybe... maybe I could wear the top part of the uniform. They’re similar enough no one would notice, but I would probably like the fit better, plus it means I would only need to put the skirt in my bag to change in later. Would that be ok...?”

“Natsuki, it’s yours now,” Sayori said, picking up the top and handing it to her gently “You can do whatever you want with it.”

After Sayori said that, Natsuki ran off to change and finished baking. Sayori was also very productive, getting in a 30-minute nap before the alarm on her phone went off (and after she pressed snooze a few times)

When she finally woke up for real, it was past time for her to be out the door. She briefly considered calling in sick, but today was the club’s first meeting! She couldn’t miss it.

Sayori checked her phone to see Natsuki had left her a message.

——————

natsuwuki: hey, i tried waking you up, but you seemed pretty fast asleep  
natsuwuki: you better not skip today, i dont want to just not know anyone in the club >:(  
natsuwuki: (took the skirt and ribbons w me btw)

——————

The messages were only from a moment ago. Maybe Sayori could still catch her!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick Edit: The idea of Sayori helping Natsuki pass and them being friends already came from “Help Me to Breathe” by machiavellianFictionist  
> That fic was also the inspiration for this, it’s very good.


	2. Our First Meeting

“Heeeeeeeyyy!” Sayori called out to Natsuki’s distant figure.

Natsuki turned around and Sayori waved her arms at her as she ran to catch up. Luckily Natsuki had paused so she could reach her faster.

“Haaah... haah…” Sayori tried to catch her breath “Sorry, I’m a heavy sleeper,” she laughed sheepishly “I could be in an earthquake and I would only wake up if my phone went off. Even then it would take a minute for me to really wake up.”

“Hmpt, and after I spent all that time trying to get you off the couch,” Natsuki said, adjusting her grip on the box of cookies in her hand “We better not be late for school.”

“It’ll be fiiine,” Sayori said as she waved her hand, though she did pick up her pace “Plus now we get to walk together~”

“You’re lucky I decided to stop and wait for you,” Natsuki replied, following Sayori’s example and speeding up.

“Ehh?” Sayori pouted “That makes it sound like you were thinking about ignoring me. You’re so mean, Natsuki.”

Natsuki tried to cross her arms before remembering she was holding a box.

“Aha~ don’t worry I was just kidding,” Sayori reassured her “You may have that harsh shell but on the inside you’re all sweet and warm~ Like... like a poptart!”

“A poptart?” Natsuki laughed “You’re ridiculous.”

Soon they arrived at school and separated to go to their respective classes.

—————

School was uneventful. Sayori couldn’t focus on the lesson as usual and ended up writing and doodling on scrap pieces of paper, waiting for the next bell to ring. She couldn’t talk to Monika in the class they shared, due to a test (they had known about it for weeks, and yet Sayori was still unprepared for it).

Finally, the last bell of the day rang. Sayori ran as fast as the teachers allowed her, to the classroom they’d agreed to meet in.

She swung open the door.

“Aw, everyone got here before me,” she whined.

“Your last class is pretty far away isn’t it?” Monika asked “Don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything. I was just thinking about rearranging the desks a bit, then we can all get to know each other.”

Monika smiled warmly at Natsuki and Yuri, who were standing rather awkwardly, near the desks.

Natsuki had put on her skirt, and had clumsily tied her short, pink hair up with the ribbons. She looked ever cuter than usual, and though she seemed uncomfortable in this new social situation, somehow, she looked like she was standing more confidently. Or was that defensively?

Yuri was twirling a long strand of hair between her fingers, not meeting anyone’s eye. She was as beautiful as ever, but she looked so nervous...

“I think that’s a great idea Monika,” Sayori smiled and went to help move the desks.

——————

Soon they were all sitting in a circle of desks. There were a few more seats than necessary. Sayori sat next to Natsuki, who she was most familiar with and Yuri sat two seats over, still looking uncomfortable. Monika stood at the other end of the small circle, beaming at everyone.

“Welcome to our first official meeting of the Literature Club!” She said, “I thought we could go around and introduce ourselves!”

“I’ll go first,” she continued “My name is Monika. I’m a Junior, my favorite thing to read is... well I like most anything really, and I look forward to getting to know you all.”

Monika took a seat and looked to her right where Yuri was sitting.

“O-oh me next?” Yuri now gripped the long strand of hair as if to hold herself steady as she stood up “My... my name is Yuri,” she spoke softly “I am a junior as well. I suppose my favorite type of books are horror novels. I admire how they-“ her voice had begun to grow more passionate at the end before she cut herself off “I enjoy reading many things though. I-I truly look forward to getting to know you all!” She seemed the rush the get the last sentence out and sat down quickly.

“My turn!” Sayori said quickly, raising her hand as she shot out of her seat, hoping to draw attention away from Yuri as fast as possible “So my name is Sayori. I’m a junior, I think we’re all juniors. Uhh my favorite things to read are... I... don’t really know.” She started rocking back and forth as she thought about it “I used to read more actual books when I was younger, but I guess I really liked the poems we had to read in class, so I’ll say those!” a beat of silence “Oh oh! And I can’t wait to get to know all of you!”

“Not much of a reader I suppose…” Yuri muttered, seemingly to herself.

“That can change, don’t worry,” Sayori smiled at her.

“Ah! I-I am terribly sorry, I did not mean to say that!” Yuri said, panicked. She must not have realized she’d said anything “I probably sounded very rude; I apologize!”

“Nah it’s ok!” Sayori insisted “You were probably expecting more serious readers in the Literature Club, it’s fine.”

Yuri tried to apologize again, but Sayori turned to Natsuki to indicate it was her turn.

“I’m Natsuki,” she said, sitting up straighter in her desk, but not standing up. Her voice sounded a bit higher than usual. It was a tad forced but barely noticeable “I’m a junior. I like to read manga,” she paused, as if daring anyone to say anything, most noticeably looking Yuri’s direction “...and I look forward to getting to know all of you.”

When she was done, Monika resumed talking.

“Now, our club is mainly just a place to hang out at the end of the day, so we don’t have any club activities planned,” Monika said, glancing at Sayori “So with that I think we can go to our reading or talk amongst ourselves unless our Vice President has anything to add?”

Sayori shook her head, but Natsuki elbowed her.

“Oh, wait I do, yes!” Sayori said “Natsuki made cookies for everyone!”

“That’s right!” Natsuki said, slightly puffing her chest out “They’re just over here, hang on.”

Natsuki quickly retrieved the box she’d had earlier this morning from the front of the classroom. She put it down on the desk and took of the lid to reveal several sandwich style cookies all in the shape of a bear, with simple but adorable faces piped on them.

“Oooo,” Sayori stared wide eyed at them. They looked delicious.

“Those look amazing Natsuki!” Monika exclaimed “I wouldn’t have guessed you’d be so good at baking.”

“Ehehe, well y’know,” Natsuki, rubbed her hand behind her head, blushing from Monika’s compliment “Just hurry and take one!”

Sayori didn’t need to be told twice! She gobbled down her cookie almost immediately. She reached for another, hoping Natsuki wouldn’t notice.

Actually, Natsuki seemed a bit preoccupied. She was staring pretty intensely at Monika who hadn’t taken a bite of her cookie yet. The club leader was trying to start a conversation with Yuri with limited success.

Seeming to give up, Monika took a bite. Her eyes seemed to light up. Natsuki smiled and went back to her own cookie.

Sayori nudged Natsuki and grinned through a mouthful of the cookie

“Shut up,” Natsuki said, turning redder “Hey- how many of those have you had?!”

While Natsuki scolded her for eating so many, Sayori saw Yuri’s eyes widen as she delicately bit into the ear of her cookie.

“N-Natsuki you baked these yourself?” Yuri asked, “Your parents did not help you?”

Sayori felt Natsuki stiffen slightly next to her.

“Yeah, I did it all myself, I’m practically a pro,” the girl bragged. Maybe Sayori had imagined it.

“They are almost professional quality, aren’t they,” Yuri said softly “T-They remind me of a bakery I used to visit with my family...”

“W-well of course they are dummy, I am the best at baking,” Natsuki said, a bit flustered again.

“Your face is a little red there, Natsuki~” Monika said teasingly.

“Nnn!” Natsuki blushed even more.

“You tried to come off all cold and stuff, but you couldn’t last more than a few minutes without revealing your true nature~” Sayori said, poking Natsuki’s cheek.

“What, a poptart?” the girl muttered sarcastically, crossing her arms, and sinking into her seat.

“Pfft, a what?” Monika laughed.

Sayori quickly recalled the events from that morning.

Yuri’s hand covered her mouth seeming to suppress giggling herself “That is quite a comparison.”

“Sh-shut up,” Natsuki said, crossing her arms defensively.

Sayori took this opportunity to go for a few more cookies.

“I think things are going well,” Monika’s voice came from over Sayori’s shoulder, causing her to jump slightly.

“Don’t scare me like that, teleporting behind people is rude!” Sayori joked, tilting her head back to look up at the Club President.

“I’m sorry, I thought you saw me get up,” Monika laughed as she put her hands on the back of Sayori’s chair “I need my Vice President’s help with a few things, can you join me over here?”

Sayori followed Monika and they pulled two desks together to work at. Monika pulled a few sheets of paper out of her backpack.

“It’s just needed to finalize everything,” she said “Most of it is signatures, here’s what you need to do...”

Monika pointed at a few lines and soon both of them were filling out the paperwork.

“Shit,” Monika suddenly looked up and Sayori followed her gaze.

Natsuki had stood up suddenly from the desks and was glaring at Yuri. Yuri seemed to be panicked and apologetic, but Natsuki had moved to the other end of the room and pulled out the copy of Parfait Girls she’s had that morning. Yuri looked down at the desk for a few moments before getting out a book of her own and hiding behind it.

“Wh-what happened?” Sayori asked, looking at Monika.

“Maybe we left them too soon...” Monika muttered “They are really different, they probably had a disagreement...” she put her head in her hands “I should’ve waited till after the meeting to get you to do this, I thought I could save time...”

“Hey, it’s ok,” Sayori hesitantly hovered her hand over Monika’s back, unsure if touching her was the right thing to do “You didn’t know that would happen.”

“No no I’m fine, don’t worry,” Monika sat back up before Sayori could do anything “I just hope they decide to come back tomorrow.”

“I’m sure they will!” Sayori said, quickly moving her hand back to her lap “Maybe we should go ahead and call today’s meeting though? So things don’t get any worse.”

“They’re separated now though, I don’t think they can do much else,” Monika observed “I say we give it a few more minutes so they can get some reading in and we can finish these signature sheets.”

“We should check on them after though, shouldn’t we?”

“You’re right,” Monika nodded “We need to make sure the club doesn’t start fall apart after the first meeting. We can’t start on such shaky foundations.”

Sayori agreed and they went back to the paperwork. They finished up pretty quickly and went back to discussing the problem. Monika decided approaching the other girls separately was the best plan. Sayori suggested Monika talk to Natsuki, grinning silently to herself despite the situation.

“I did want to talk to Natsuki actually,” Monika said “I thought I knew everyone at school, and she does look familiar... no matter, I’ll rectify that now. And I’ll try to fix the Yuri problem of course.”

Monika got up and walked over to Natsuki, leaving Sayori to talk to Yuri.

“H-hey!” Sayori said, maybe coming on to strongly since she caused Yuri to jump in her seat “What happened with Natsuki?” She asked as she sat next to Yuri.

Yuri folded her hands in her lap and looked down “It was my fault...”

“What did you say?”

“I said I had not been expecting them- the cookies I mean- to taste as delightful as they did, considering how they looked,” Yuri said, referencing the cutesy nature of the cookies “And she appeared insulted... I attempted to explain but I think I only made the situation worse...”

“She got mad because you underestimated her abilities?” Sayori asked to make sure she understood the situation. When Yuri nodded, Sayori continued “Yeah, she’s a little sensitive to stuff like that. I know you didn’t mean any harm, but you probably hurt her feelings a little. An apology might help?”

“I will apologize, do not worry,” Yuri said, “Thank you for coming to talk to me.”

“No problem,” Sayori grinned and Yuri hesitantly picked her book back up.

Was that all? Sayori didn’t want the conversation to be over.

“Sooooooo,” Sayori said as she slide her arms across the desk and looked up at Yuri

“So...?” Yuri echoed.

“So! You seem cool! I want to be your friend,” Sayori said, figuring being straightforward would be best.

“C-c-cool?” Yuri stuttered, seeming to shrink into the desk chair “Me...?”

“Yes, you silly!” Sayori said “You have this really neat vibe, it’s all mysterious and stuff~” Sayori wiggled her fingers to emphasize and Yuri giggled.

“I-I am really not all that interesting,” she said, blushing slightly.

“Let’s find out,” Sayori said, tilting her head “We should get to know each other.”

“O-okay,” Yuri “I- no I mean, do you want to go first?”

“No, I think we’re supposed to have a conversation?” Sayori said. She’d sort of jumped into this without a plan “So you said you liked scary books?”

“W-well that is putting it...” Yuri stopped herself “Yes... I enjoy horror novels.”

“Can you tell me about them?”

——————

“Okay everyone!” Monika clapped to draw attention to herself “I think it’s about time to wrap things up! I’ll see all of you tomorrow, right.”

It wasn’t a question. Monika was smiling brightly but Sayori could feel the force behind her words.

Yuri nodded quickly. Natsuki crossed her arms but nodded as well.

“I’m so glad~”

The first Literature Club meeting was done.

Sayori stood by the door of the club room as Monika and Yuri left. She and Yuri had had a pretty good conversation. Or she thought they did at least. Even now, seeds of doubt were coming in and burying themselves in her brain. Had she forced Yuri to talk to her when she didn’t want to? What if she’s made her uncomfortable? She’d probably-

“Sayori!”

She would have to wait to water those thoughts for when she was in bed at home.

Sayori turned to see Natsuki staring up at her.

“Whoops!” Sayori giggled “Must have zoned out!”

“You sent Monika over to talk to me??” Natsuki hissed, face red.

“Whaaaat?” Sayori asked innocently, making a shocked expression.

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about!”

“And don’t you act like you’re going to avoid what we actually need to talk about,” Sayori said, switching gears “I know Yuri came off wrong but- “

“Ugh, that bitch...” Natsuki muttered.

“That is not a very nice thing to say!” Sayori said with mock shock and Natsuki rolled her eyes “You and Yuri are very different, but you should try to get along.”

“I’m not getting along with someone like her,” Natsuki practically snarled “Come, let’s start walking.”

Sayori followed Natsuki out the door and tried to explain.

“She said she was sorry about insulting your cookies- “

“Oh, is that what she thinks I left over?” Natsuki laughed bitterly.

Sayori paused “Wasn’t it...?”

“No!” Natsuki exclaimed “She’s a fucking homophobe.”

“What? How do you know?” Sayori asked, confused; she had not gotten those vibes from Yuri at all. If anything, after yesterday, she’d suspected Yuri had been into Monika.

“Well, you and Monika left to fill out something, I dunno,” Natsuki started “And you guys were sitting really close and kept glancing at each other and there was this... Um.”

“Huh?” Sayori hadn’t read into her and Monika’s interactions that much.

“A-anyway I made a joke that you guys looked like a couple,” Natsuki said, slightly glancing away.

“Huh!” Sayori exclaimed. She hadn’t thought about it like that at all.

“It was a stupid joke, don’t think about it too much, I don’t know why I said it,” Natsuki spoke fast. Sayori couldn’t read her expression “Anyway, Yuri said some stupid shit about how you two were both girls, so I left. Then to add insult to injury, she said she was shocked my cupcakes were so good since they looked so cutesy.”

“Maybe it came out wrong...?” Sayori said, trying to be hopeful “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“I know what I heard Sayori,” Natsuki crossed her arms and stopped walking “I turn here,” she said as she looked down the street “I’ll see you tomorrow.”


	3. Our Second Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Slight mention of cutting at the end of the chapter in the final paragraph.

Everyone sat in the circle of desks, not seeming to know what to say. It was up to Sayori to fill the silence. 

“So, what’s everyone been reading?” Sayori asked as she swung her legs back and forth to get rid of the building energy inside of her.

Monika looked between Yuri and Natsuki who avoided eye contact before looking up at Sayori who shrugged.

“Well, I’ve been reading _If on a Winter's Night a Traveler_ by Calvino,” Monika said, pausing as if to give the others a chance to speak. 

“O-oh I read that a while ago,” Yuri said softly. 

“What’s it about?” Sayori asked, she’d never read it and knew she probably never would, but the conversation couldn’t end here. She wanted everyone to get along.

“Well, it’s about two readers...” Monika started talking about the book with Yuri chiming in occasionally. 

As much as Sayori loved seeing the awkwardness fade, she had no idea what they were talking about. She assumed it wasn’t even that difficult of a book and she just wasn’t smart enough to get it. She started zoning out. 

When she came back to earth, Monika had switched topics to the Eye of Markov, that book Yuri always seemed to have with her. Yuri had started contributing to the conversation it seemed. They were having a full-blown discussion. Sayori noticed Yuri was still grasping at the long strands of her hair, but now she was running her fingers through it almost excitedly instead of anxiously.

As Sayori pulled away from the conversation she wasn’t a part of anymore, a flash of pink caught her eye. Natsuki was shuffling in her desk. Sayori slid over a few chairs.

“Hey!” She said, louder than she meant to, startling her friend. She tried to think of a conversation starter “Want to find a place for your manga? I just realized we didn’t get a chance to do that yesterday. 

“Fuck!”

Natsuki’s eyes went wide and she dove for her book bag very suddenly suddenly. Yuri and Monika’s conversation came to a halt and everyone looked at the girl who was frantically digging through her bag.

“W-What are you all staring at?” She snapped, as she popped back up from the ground with her copy of _Parfait Girls_ in hand.

Monika and Yuri tentatively went back to their conversation, Monika first shooting a worried glance at Sayori who mouthed she would take care of it.

“What was that about?” Sayori asked, gently.

“Nothing,” Natsuki said firmly, gripping the book.

“H-hey, why don’t we try the closet?” Sayori suggested “For a place to keep the manga? No one really uses this classroom so I can’t imagine it gets much use?”

Natsuki nodded and the two of them got out of their chairs and headed for the back of the room. After finding a light switch, Sayori closed the closet door behind them. 

\------

“W-what do you think that was about?” Yuri asked, turning to Monika.

“I’m not sure…” Monika said “Natsuki seemed to panic about… something, I’m not sure what. Hopefully Sayori can take care of it.”

“Yeah- “

“She’s very good at that kind of thing,” Monika said, accidently interrupting Yuri “Helping with emotional situations, or anything really. She’s such a wonderful person, I couldn’t ask for a better vice president.”

“Y-you really like her, don’t you?”

“Of course!” Monika said “She’s so sweet. You talked to her yesterday; you know what I mean.”

“Oh! Yes!” Yuri seemed surprised to have been asked a question “She was very kind and understanding. I plan to follow her advice and apologize to Natsuki for what I said, I just have not found the right moment…”

“What did you say?” Monika asked, curious “Natsuki wouldn’t tell me, it must have been something personal if she couldn’t even say it.”

“I-I did not realize baking was that important to her,” Yuri muttered, clearly confused “I had said something about her cookies, it is not important, I will fix this soon.”

“I’m not sure how long they’ll stay in there,” Monika said, glancing at the closet “It might have to wait till tomorrow.”

\------

“Nat...?” Sayori started slowly. They were sitting on the floor of the closet against the wall “You can talk to me, you know that, right?”

“I’m fine,” Natsuki said as she wrapped her arms around her knees, making herself appear smaller “I was just worried my father had found my manga is all...”

Sayori put her hand on Natsuki’s back, unsure if it was the right thing to do to be comforting. To Sayori’s surprise, Natsuki leaned her head on Sayori’s shoulder, taking a moment before she started talking

“I forgot to change before I went back home,” she said, starting to shake “I went back in the skirt.”

“Did he…” Sayori trailed off. She wasn’t sure how bad it was for Natsuki at home, but she knew it was enough that she should be concerned right now.

“He wasn’t there when I got home,” Natsuki said, her voice wavering. Sayori felt warm tears through her shirt fabric “But I was really s-scared... He said my uniform top looked different; I think he knows it’s the girl’s blazer.”

Sayori wrapped her arms around Natsuki and held her tightly, this time more sure she was doing the right thing “It’ll be ok,” she whispered “Here, what if I remind you to change from now on. And I can bring your other blazer that’s still at my house for you if you want to wear that one when you go home?”

Sayori felt Natsuki nod.

That sat there for a few minutes before Natsuki stood up, wiping her eyes.

“So, you think this would be a good place for my manga to go?” She sniffed, looking around at the cluttered shelves.

“I think we could clear off the shelves and it would be a perfect home for it!” Sayori said. The serious conversation was over now she guessed. Maybe Natsuki just didn’t want to talk about it anymore. 

“A home?” Natsuki laughed “Sayori Manga aren’t alive.”

They started rearranging the shelves while talking. It was nice, Sayori liked being with Natsuki. It made her feel all warm inside.

\--------

“Hang on, I thought you said Monika was definitely straight,” Sayori said, pulling out her phone in case she was remembering wrong. They were almost done clearing off the shelves.

“Yes, I thought she was straight,” Natsuki said “But we talked some yesterday, and she is so gay.”

“Hasn’t she had a bunch of boyfriends though?” Sayori asked, thinking of one in particular.

“Well, yeah, but they never last long,” Natsuki said “Plus the option for her being Bi or Pan, like you, is still open.”

“I guess, but how can you tell?” Sayori asked while picking up a box from off the shelf.

“She totally has a crush on you,” Natsuki said simply.

“Ha! Yeah right!” Sayori said, almost dropping the box.

“She does!” Natsuki insisted “I’m not sure if she realizes it, but she wouldn’t shut up about you yesterday.”

“That doesn’t mean anything, we barely know each other!” Sayori was sure her face was red at this point “A-anyway, it looks like we’re done.”

They looked up at the now cleared out shelf. It was a pretty dusty, but it would function perfectly as a bookshelf. Natsuki cleaned off a spot and put her single copy of Parfait Girls on the shelf before stepping back and looking at it proudly.

“Do you think it’s time to go back to the others?” Sayori asked.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Natsuki smiled.

\------

Sayori and Natsuki came out of the closet (the literal one sadly) and joined the other half of their group. Monika and Yuri seemed to be waiting for them. They were probably ready to go, Sayori and Natsuki had spent a while organizing the closet.

“Okay everyone!” Monika called everyone’s attention “So I think today was a good meeting, we’re kind of getting into the flow of things, right?”

Everyone nodded, Sayori maybe more enthusiastically than the other two

“Remember to bring something to read tomorrow everyone,” Monika said “I think we’re done for today~”

\-----------

Today had been a good day hadn’t it?

Sayori had helped Natsuki a little, no one had fought, Monika had seemed pleased.

So why? Why why why why why was she so empty?

Was she faking it? She had felt happy earlier, so why was she like this now?

Telling anyone would be making a big deal out of nothing.

Telling anyone would be begging for attention.

Telling anyone would be selfish.

Sayori ran the cool water over the small scratches on her wrist and went back to bed.


	4. Our Third Meeting

“Hey Sayori~” Monika beamed at her when she walked in the door

“Hi Monika!” Sayori smiled back. She was glad to be back in the club room. She was sad it was Friday; she wanted to come back to the club again tomorrow. It had been less than a week, but it already felt like home.

That was wrong. Home was where the bad thoughts lived. The Literature Club was a happy place.

“So, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today,” Monika asked “I want to spend more time with you~”

“Didn’t we just see each other in our class?” Sayori asked, a bit confused.

“Yes, but that was two periods ago,” Monika smiled “Let’s hang out today~”

Something was up with Monika’s voice. It was almost... flirty?

Sayori thought back to what Natsuki had said yesterday before dismissing the whole thing quickly.

No, Nat had put the idea of Monika liking her in Sayori’s head so of course she was going to notice things that weren’t there. That must be it.

“Ok! What do you want to do?” Sayori replied, mentally shaking her thoughts away.

“We can just talk,” Monika said as she took Sayori’s hand and lead her to the other end of the room.

The physical contact made Sayori’s heart skip a beat.

...

Wait a minute...

Nope, nope, this wasn’t happening. She was not catching feelings for her best friend’s crush.

“So,” Monika sat in front of Sayori, interlocking her fingers and resting her chin on them “I think things are going pretty well don’t you?”

“With the club?” Sayori asked, mentally hitting herself in the forehead as Monika nodded. Of course, the club, what else would she be talking about. Stop being so stupid. Why was she making everything weird now?

“Sayori, are you ok?” Monika asked, tilting her head.

“Huh- oh, yeah, Natsuki just said something stupid yesterday,” Sayori said, “I was just thinking about it is all.”

Monika glanced over at Natsuki. She had been looking in their direction but quickly looked back down at her own book (Parfait Girls again. It looked like a new volume)

“Hmhmhm, hey Sayori,” Monika turned back to her “I have a question for you. It’s a little embarrassing to ask though…”

Sayori had never noticed how vibrant a green Monika’s eyes were until now. And her hair was so shiny. And she was leaning closer. Why was Sayori’s heart racing.

“Does Natsuki like me?” Monika asked.

Oh

“I was getting this energy from her when we talked, like she was all flustered,” Monika said “I wasn’t sure, so I thought I’d ask her best friend~”

“I-I don’t know!” Sayori’s voice wasn’t convincing.

“Hmm, well do you know if she’s gay at least?” Monika asked “She’s pretty cute, I might see if she wants to go out sometime~”

“Eh! Even if I did know I couldn’t tell you,” Sayori said, slightly panicked.

“I see, she’s not out yet,” Monika nodded before looking up at Sayori’s face “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. I won’t ask her out either. I’m interested in someone else at the moment~”

“H-huh-“ Sayori was trying to process all the new information she was just given “You’re bi?”

“Pan, like you,” Monika said, “Well I assume that’s what the pansexual pin on your bag means.”

“It does…” Sayori said “You like Natsuki? You were gonna ask her out?”

“Mm, I don’t know, I need to give it more time,” Monika said “I only said that to see if you knew anything.”

“Because like someone else?” Sayori was confused “Who?”

“Who indeed~” Monika smiled.

It couldn’t be her. Monika would never like someone like Sayori.

Was she disappointed? Why was she disappointed?

This was too many new emotions at once.

“Do you want to work on that homework from class?” Sayori asked, masterfully changing the subject.

Now Monika looked disappointed “Sure.”

That didn’t last for long. The homework was fairly simple. They finished it quickly and traded papers to double check.

“Pfft, you use so many commas,” Monika said, looking over Sayori’s paper.

“At least I have sentences,” Sayori said lightheartedly “Seriously, there’s not one period on this whole paper.”

“It’s called free form writing and it helps get ideas out without having to worry about things like sentence structure,” Monika said, then smiled at Sayori. She was pretty sure she knew what Monika was thinking. Sayori was glad the weird awkwardness from earlier was gone too.

“I’m so glad we’re friends,” Sayori said suddenly.

“I am too,” Monika said, leaning her head in her hand and smiling at Sayori “I never thought we’d get this far after… well, you know.”

“Yeah,” Sayori said, wishing she didn’t know “We don’t need to talk about that though.”

“Agreed,” Monika said as she handed the paper back to Sayori “All good.”

“Yours is too,” Sayori said, doing the same.

At that moment, loud voices from the other side of the room broke out into an argument.

——————

Natsuki sat alone in the Literature Club. Sayori and Monika were talking, and Yuri was sitting a little further away. She did not want to talk to Yuri. She wished Yuri was out of the club. Then it’d just be the three girls and it’d be safe to come out. Unless she was wrong about Monika, but that was unlikely.

Natsuki looked up at Monika and Sayori again. Monika was leaning close to Sayori. Her friend’s face was red.

Monika glanced in Natsuki’s direction; Natsuki quickly looked back down at her book. She’d bought the second Parfait Girls manga yesterday. She’d already read it online but having it in her hands was different. She tried to look invested, even if this chapter was mostly set up for later, but she couldn’t have Monika thinking she had been staring.

It was still a good chapter though… Natsuki was reminded again how much she loved this series. It was so wholesome and warm. It was her favorite. She wished that she could read it forever and never have to deal with real people again.

“U-um, hello there Natsuki,” a soft voice pulled her out of the pages.

“What?” Natsuki asked harshly, glaring up at Yuri. She didn’t like how the taller girl was towering over her when Natsuki was sitting. Yuri sat down, hunched over slightly. Good, at least they were closer to level now.

Wait, not good. Why was she sitting down?

“Why are you sitting down?” Natsuki asked, still glaring.

“I-I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday,” Yuri said, fiddling with her hair.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Natsuki huffed and went back to her manga.

“P-please!” Yuri said “It would trouble the others if our club started off in this way. Let us at least pretend to make up. For them.”

Was this affecting the other two? Natsuki hadn’t thought about it like that. She still didn’t understand why they didn’t just get rid of Yuri. Maybe they would after she told them what they knew from yesterday.

“Alright, look,” Natsuki said, snapping her book shut and putting it on the desk “Get this in your head ok: Stay away from me. I do not want to talk to someone like you.”

Yuri’s brow furrowed “Why are you acting like such a child, it was only a comment about cookies. I still liked them-“

“Oh, this isn’t about cookies,” Natsuki said, standing up.

“Then what?” Yuri sunk into her seat.

“I- Ugh! I don’t have to tell you,” Natsuki hadn’t thought this far ahead “Just go away!”

“N-no!” Yuri stood up too, casting a shadow over the shorter girl “I-I came here to apologize but you are making it so very difficult!”

“Oh boo-hoo,” Natsuki said mockingly.

“You are one of the most unpleasant people I have ever had the displeasure of speaking to!”

“Go cry me a river, bitch!”

“Natsuki!” Sayori exclaimed from the other side of the room, halting their argument. Soon both she and Monika were beside them.

“Stay out of this Sayori,” Natsuki hissed

“I can’t do that,” Sayori said “Natsuki, can we talk about this like reasonable people please?”

“Yuri’s a homophobe!” Natsuki blurted out “And we should kick her out of the club.”

“Yuri is this true?” Monika asked, turning to Yuri.

“N-no!” Yuri denied quickly.

“Liar!”

“Everyone!” Sayori yelled, surprising the others. She took a breath before continuing “Let’s all sit down and try to talk about this.”

——————

When all the girls where in their desk, Monika started talking first.

“Natsuki, what seems to be the problem?” she asked.

“Yuri’s homophobic and I don’t want to be around her,” Natsuki said, crossing her arms.

“Why do you think that?” Monika asked.

“I made a gay joke yesterday and Yuri reacted… badly too it,” Natsuki said, averting her eyes, seeming to realize how flimsy her stance was.

“I-I did not mean to come off that way, really,” Yuri said “I didn’t know you- I mean… I am not used to this, it’s all still new to me, and I… please forgive me!” She bowed her head.

“I think we can accept that, right Natsuki?” Monika turned to Natsuki.

“Sure,” Natsuki said flatly.

“That’s great,” Monika clapped “I’m glad we fixed this.”

Natsuki still looked mad and Yuri was hiding behind her hair.

Seeming to realize she had not, in fact, fixed this, Monika looked helplessly at Sayori who panicked slightly.

“Um, Natsuki,” Sayori said, unsure of herself “I understand why you’re upset. Because you- I mean clearly this issue means a lot to you.”

“Because I’m a lesbian…” Natsuki said, glancing at Monika nervously before glaring at Yuri again.

“R-right, and you were nervous about how people would react,” Sayori said carefully, “So you were looking for anything to confirm your fears.”

Natsuki was quiet for a moment.

“Maybe you’re right…” she muttered.

“And Yuri,” Sayori turned to the nervous looking girl “I’m not sure what you believe, but this club is an accepting place, ok? I don’t know what you really said or meant, but I don’t believe you’re a bad person. You don’t need to be attacked; you just need to learn more about different people.”

Yuri nodded.

“Do you think we can move past this now and try to be friends?” Sayori asked, looking between the two girls.

“I guess,” Natsuki said. She looked less mad now.

“I-I would like that,” Yuri said with a small smile.

“Yay!” Sayori said, slightly bouncing in her seat “I’d say this was a successful club meeting, wouldn’t you?” She asked, turning to Monika.

Monika blinked before smiling.

“Yes, I agree,” she said, “I do think it’s time to go now however.”

There was a sound of disappointment from Sayori.

“But I was thinking,” Monika continued “Since tomorrow’s Saturday, if no ones busy, we could go to this new ice cream place that just opened.”

“Oh oh! I would love that!” Sayori exclaimed. Anything to get out of the house and out of her head.

“New ice cream place… Poko’s Parlor?” Yuri asked, “I have heard wonderful things about it, I would like to come as well!”

They all turned to Natsuki who looked like she was lost in thought.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I can come,” she said, “I never have anything to do over the weekend besides work.”

“Then it’s a date,” Monika said, clapping her hands together “I can’t wait to see all of you~”


	5. Our First “Date”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Serious warning for Transphobia in this chapter

Sayori lay in her bed, wrapped up in her comforter. She knew she had to get up soon, the Literature Club was getting Ice Cream today. Slowly, she forced her legs off the bed and slid off.

The floor wasn’t very comfortable. She grabbed her pillow and fell back asleep.

——————

Monika <3 is calling...

——————

Sayori jolted up and grabbed her phone.

“Monika heyyy,” she said, “When uh, when did you get my number?”

“We swapped them in class, remember?” Monika asked.

“Oh right!” Sayori exclaimed, the memory coming back to her “Sorry, I’m so forgetful in the mornings.”

“You’re forgetful all the time Sayori,” Monika laughed with her “And speaking of being forgetful...”

Sayori checked the time.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry, I fell asleep, I’ll be at the meeting spot in ten minutes,” she quickly apologized while grabbing a pink shirt and some frilly shorts. She hung up and rushed to get dressed.

——————

“Here!” Sayori waved at her friends who were all sitting on a bench. They’d decided next to the park was the best place to meet up, since it was the middle distance between the ice cream place and their houses. Natsuki and Monika were on their phones and Yuri was reading a decent sized book.

The three of them looked up. Monika smiled and waved back, and they all stood up.

“Took you long enough,” Natsuki said, crossing her arms. She was wearing an adorable outfit! It was a white shirt with pink trim and a layered pink skirt.

“It is quite alright,” Yuri reassured her “It gave me time to read a few chapters of my book.” Yuri was wearing a cream colored turtleneck with long sleeves that almost went past her fingertips. And odd choice for such a warm day.

“Haah... Still! Sorry!” Sayori apologized again. She was still trying to catch her breath; as soon as she stepped out the door, she’d ran as fast as she could “I didn’t mean to keep you waiting! Let’s go get ice cream now!”

“Yes, let’s,” Monika linked her arm with Sayori’s, which Sayori had not been expecting “It’s this way, let’s go!”

Monika was wearing a pale green crop top. It had short sleeves, so her bare arms were touching Sayori’s. Sayori wasn’t sure why that made her heart beat faster.

Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked behind her to see Natsuki.

“Hey Sayori?” Natsuki asked “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Sayori glanced at Monika who looked disappointed but let Sayori go.

“Yeah sure,” Sayori said, as they trailed behind the other two girls “Is this about Monika? Cause I swear I’m not trying anything, you said you liked her first-“

“What, no,” Natsuki shook her head “I wouldn’t care anyway.”

“But you have a crush on-“

“Shhhhut up,” Natsuki said, face red “Maybe I do but I barely know her. It’s just a small crush. Even if it wasn’t, she clearly likes you. Don’t try to say anything different!” She said as Sayori opened her mouth “I don’t have anymore ‘right’ to be with her than you.”

“Oh,” Sayori said. She would argue Natsuki had much more of a right than she did, but she doubted the other girl would agree with her “So what did you want to tell me then.”

“I wanted to ask if I could keep this outfit at your house,” Natsuki said, glancing down “I bought it just before this. I... wanted to look nice.”

“You definitely succeeded!” Sayori said “You’re adorable~”

“Nnn!” Natsuki turned red again. She blushed really easily, which was really cute “Th-thanks... but I can’t let my dad see. Even just wearing it out is... scary, but I figured going to the ice cream place would be safe. I doubt the type of people he’s friends with hang around a place like that.”

“It’ll be ok,” Sayori said as gently bumped Natsuki “We’re all here with you.”

Natsuki smiled and took Sayori’s hand.

“Thanks.”

Soon the group arrived at Poko’s Parlor. It was a cute little shop with pink stripes on the roof. As soon as Sayori stepped in the door, she was met with a surprisingly warm and welcoming smell considering they served ice cream.

She ran up to the counter like an excited kid.

“Ooo the cotton candy has pretty swirls in it!”

“You’re so childish, geez,” Natsuki said as she turned to the person behind the counter “I want the pink one in a chocolate cone with the rainbow sprinkles.”

“She’s childish?” Yuri muttered.

“What was that?”

“N-nothing! I-I am sorry!” Yuri exclaimed. She turned to the counter too “I will have the lavender honey ice cream. In a bowl, please.”

Natsuki opened her mouth to say something before Sayori elbowed her.

“Be nice…” she warned.

“Fine.”

They all sat down in a booth and Monika insisted on paying for everyone (there was minimal resistance from Sayori; she had forgotten her wallet at home).

Monika came back with their orders and a double scoop of mint chocolate chip for herself.

“Enjoy~” she said as she handed everything out.

“Mmmm,” Sayori took a huge bite out of her’s “Oh ow ow ow!” she clenched her forehead “Brain freeze!”

Her friends laughed at her before enjoying their ice cream

“This is nice,” Monika said, looking relaxed “I like spending time with all of you.”

“Ye-yeah,” Natsuki sounded a little embarrassed

“It really is such a lovely day,” Yuri sighed “And this ice cream is delicious. The flavor or the honey is subtle but it balances the lavender out beautifully. I-I am going off on a tangent aren’t I…”

“It’s ok!” Sayori said “You should do that more often, I like hearing you talk, your voice is pretty~”

“E-eh!”

“Sayori’s right, ehehe,” Monika laughed “You have a Lovely voice Yuri~”

Was Monika flirting with Yuri? Wait, had Sayori been flirting too?? Wether intentional or not, Yuri didn’t know how to handle it.

“I-I-“

Yuri looked like if she got one more compliment she would explode

“I guess it’s nice,” Natsuki said

“Uuuuuuu!”

Yuri’s face was bright red and she had retreated into her curtain of purple hair.

Sayori closed her eyes wished this moment would last forever. She felt good. She was with her friends and they were all laughing and having fun. It felt like nothing could go wrong.

“ꋊꁲꋖꌚꐇꀗꂑ!”

That wasn’t the right word... That was Natsuki’s dead name wasn’t it? Sayori shook her head. She simply didn’t hear it. She’d already forgotten what it was.

“ꋊꁲꋖꌚꐇꀗꂑ!” the word was louder this time. Sayori blocked it out again but glanced at Natsuki.

Sayori’s heart stopped. Natsuki looked terrified. Her hands were shaking so hard she’d dropped her ice cream. Her face was pale, and she was looking up in horror.

Sayori followed her gaze so see a large man looming over the table.

“What do you think you’re doing, boy?” he growled “Out in public in a skirt? Are you trying to embarrass me?”

“P-papa, no-“ Natsuki seemed even smaller than usual

“Get in the car,” the man said “Now.”

Natsuki all but climbed over Sayori and ran out the door without another word, hiding her face the whole way.

“I’m sorry about my son,” the man turned back to the remaining group “He thinks he can be a girl. I apologize if he tricked y’all, I thought he’d finally gotten some sense. I’ll put a stop to this when we get home. You can be sure this little cross-dressing phase will come to an end tonight.”

“She didn’t ‘trick’ anyone! You’re just an asshole!”

Monika and Yuri stared at Sayori in surprise. Sayori was surprised too. She didn’t think she’d ever cussed before.

“Oh, I see,” the man’s tone shifted from apologetic to low and threatening “You’re the ones encouraging this behavior.”

Sayori instantly regretted saying anything.

“Say away from my son,” he said, “All of you, do you hear me?”

The man stormed out and soon the group heard the sound of a car pulling out.

“N-Natsuki is a boy...?” Yuri asked.

“No,” Sayori said firmly “Natsuki is a girl. Her dad is just a transphobic jerk.”

Tears were starting to well up in her eyes which was stupid. What right did she have to cry? She’d told Natsuki she would be fine and look what had happened. Sayori felt sick.

“I have to go home,” Sayori said, looking down at her unfinished ice cream. She didn’t deserve that.

She got up from the table and threw it in the trash can on her way out the door. It fell to the bottom with a hollow thud.


	6. The Gender Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Proofread by my wonderful sibling who is apparently better at catching spelling errors than me

They all sat silently around the table. 

Sayori hated that they kept starting meetings this way. 

The weekend was over. After they’d gone out for ice cream, they hadn’t spoken, but they had all ended up coming back to the Literature Club. 

Natsuki sat close to Sayori, not looking at the others. Under the table, the girl had grabbed Sayori’s hand. Sayori noticed Natsuki was wearing the foundation she’d lent her. That was strange. She didn’t normally wear the makeup out of fear her dad would notice something. 

“S-so you are a boy..?” Yuri shakily broke the silence 

“No!” Natsuki yelled, her grip tightening on Sayori’s hand 

“Let’s-“ Monika took a breath “Natsuki, I just want to say I’m so sorry about what happened over the weekend.”

“No one deserves to be outed, especially not like that,” Sayori said softly, rubbing her thumb over Natsuki’s hand “We don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to. One of us can go with you somewhere else, and the other can stay here and explain things to Yuri.”

“I-I do not need things explained to me,” Yuri muttered defensively 

Monika sighed and signaled that now was not the time

“No, I’m fine,” Natsuki said, letting go of Sayori’s hand and looking away “This doesn’t need to be a big deal. So I’m trans, so what?”

“That’s not what we’re concerned about,” Monika said “The whole thing with your dad-“

“It’s fine,” Natsuki snapped “He overreacted at the ice cream place, but we went home and talked so it’s fine now.”

Monika raised an eyebrow 

“After all of that he’s suddenly okay with you being trans?”

“Yes.”

“Natsuki...” Monika reached for the girl’s hands. When Natsuki pulled it away, Monika sighed “I know we haven’t known each other very long but I’m always open if you need someone to talk to.”

“Sure,” Natsuki nodded, clearly just wanting the conversation to be over

There was the awkward silence again. Monika was still looking at Natsuki, who was avoiding all eye contact. Yuri was looking lost. 

“So you don’t know what’s going on do you?” Sayori asked Yuri, who hesitantly nodded

“I apologize...”

“It’s fine, we’ll explain,” Natsuki sighed, annoyed “I’m-“

“Natsuki is trans, which means her birth sex doesn’t align with her gender identity,” Monika said very matter of factly, cutting off Natsuki 

“...right,” Natsuki said. Sayori had expected her to be the one to explain 

“So Natsuki is a boy..?”

“No...”

After a few more minutes and a small chat, Sayori was fairly confident Yuri understood the basics of gender identity. 

“That took way too long...” Natsuki said

“Okay, I believe I understand now,” Yuri seemed embarrassed “Are the rest of you like Natsuki..?”

“That wouldn’t be any of your business if they were,” Natsuki muttered, crossing her arms 

“O-oh...” Yuri looked down “I am sorry, I should have...” she trailed off and anxiously ran her fingers through her hair

“I’m cis,” Monika said “Like you, I identify with my assigned gender.”

“I guess I’m cis,” Sayori shrugged “I’m not actually sure, I’ve never thought about it. I don’t really feel too much like anything to be honest,” she laughed “I’m probably a girl though.”

Probably

“…can you be something other than a boy or a girl..?”

“Oh my gosh…” Natsuki sighed with annoyance as Monika pulled the chart out once again.

Yuri asked a few more questions, but eventually the group dispersed. Sayori had actually remembered to bring a book! ...that she ended up not being able to focus on. No one grouped up that day so she was left alone with her thoughts. 

She’d never really thought about her gender before. Was it possible she wasn’t a she?

When they got home, Sayori stared at the ceiling and thought about it. It was almost nice to have this sudden gender dilemma to distract themself from more unpleasant thoughts. 

They’d never questioned anything before now so they wondered why this was happening all of a sudden. They had only become exposed to the LGBT community this year, so maybe now that they knew other labels existed they were realizing something new. 

They couldn’t be sure though. Not yet. Maybe it was time for an experiment.

The next day Sayori marched into the Literature Club with a request 

“Would they/them pronouns not be grammatically incorrect,” Yuri asked hesitantly. Natsuki turned to glower at the confused girl and she quickly corrected herself “N-not that I will not use them for you of course!”

“Actually, singular ‘they’ is used quite often in everyday speech,” Monika said “While using they as a pronoun is a newer concept, it’s becoming widely accepted and is even in the Webster dictionary-“

“Yeah yeah,” Natsuki interrupted “Also people’s feelings are more important than some arbitrary rules.”

“Nat...” Sayori hadn’t meant for this to turn into an argument 

“I understand,” Yuri said, bowing her head “I will use they/them for you Sayori, do not worry!”

“I mean it’s just an experiment,” Sayori laughed “I might not even like them!”

“I LOVE them!” The next day, Sayori ran through the door at full speed “The they pronouns? They’re amazing! It’s like: what even is gender? It’s fantastic!”

“Someone’s happy!” Monika remarked, smiling at Sayori 

“It just feels like something I didn’t even know was bothering me has just flown away!”

“I’m glad you figured it out,” Natsuki said, nudging Sayori with her shoulder “It’s a good feeling.”

“Yeah,” Sayori grinned, content.

“U-um...” Yuri had entered the room, a little later than usual “Natsuki, may I speak with you?”

The taller girl fumbled with a piece of paper in her hands, slightly crumpling it and smoothing it back out. 

“I guess,” Natsuki said, slumping back in her seat

“A-alone.”

“Oh,” Natsuki seemed surprised “Yeah sure.”

Sayori wondered what that was about 

“Hey, wanna see something I wrote~” Monika asked

“Of course!”

——————

“What did you want to say?” Natsuki asked when the two girls had stepped into the hallway 

“W-well,” Yuri was not quite sure where to start “I wanted to apologize.”

“Didn’t you already do that?”

“Y-yes but I felt it required something more...” Yuri glanced at her paper. She had written down what she had wanted to get across but now she was rethinking everything. 

“I... I am a very proud person,” she started “I dislike being wrong, and when I am I can be a bit stubborn. It is something I am working on, though it is by no means a problem I have fixed. I have been doing some research on the LGBT community so I may better understand you and our club mates. I hope you can forgive my past mindset, though it is not completely perfect, and we may move onto becoming friends.”

Natsuki didn’t say anything 

“B-because I would like to be friends...” Yuri said, her voice trailing off

“I think we can try that,” Natsuki said, avoiding eye contact “For the rest of the club, n-not because I want to.”

“Y-you do want to though,” Yuri said “You are simply embarrassed, correct?”

“D-dummy! Of course not!” Natsuki’s face was definitely red. She was almost cartoonishly denying it now

Yuri giggled as Natsuki yelled at bit more, before the shorter girl turned to the club room door

“T-thanks for trying to understand me,” Natsuki said quietly, not facing Yuri “I really needed something like this today.”

She walked back into the club room and Yuri followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a shorter chapter, sorry about that! From here I want the chapters to feel episodic with consistent character development. I can’t promise I’ll execute this perfectly but I’m having fun writing this!  
> I hope anyone reading this is enjoying <3


End file.
